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All three have been there before, so you can forget about the mysteries entering the state tournament.
Holy Redeemer has traveled this path too many times for Jack Kablick to count.
Nanticoke Area is hoping to continue its historical season.
And Mike Williams? He didn’t even need to wait until District 3 crowned its champion one night after his Crestwood Comets lost to Southern Lehigh in a district third-place match.
“If you are the fourth-place finisher in District 2, you get Northeastern right off the bat,” the Crestwood head coach said. “And that’s going to be a challenge.”
Three District 2 teams begin their journeys in the PIAA Class 2A boys’ volleyball bracket Wednesday.
Holy Redeemer and Nanticoke play close to home, heading back to Pittston Area. The Royals are up first, taking on D3 third-seed Lancaster Mennonite at 4 p.m., while the Trojans play the nightcap against District 12 third-placer Cardinal O’Hara.
Crestwood, on the other hand, makes the trek down to Cumberland Valley High School (Mechanicsburg) to square off with the defending state champ Bobcats.
“It’s always exciting. That feeling never changes,” said Kablick, Redeemer’s head coach.
If there is any District 2 team that precisely knows the drill, it’s the Royals.
As a matter of fact, Redeemer and Mennonite have already played multiple sets this season – the latest coming in the championship of the Warwick Tournament where the Royals won, 2-1.
And if Kablick’s group is successful Wednesday, they have also met up with York Suburban, a possible quarterfinal opponent, at a tournament earlier this season.
“I think they are confident because of what they have accomplished this season in the district, and because of the success we’ve had in our tournament schedule,” Kablick said.
The Royals can match up with anyone in terms of talent, height and power.
Rob Zbierski and John Carr are two of the premier attackers in the state, while the Royals’ back line has been hitting its stride in the last three weeks. Size-wise, Redeemer has a formidable defense at the net with the size of Zbierski, Carr, Ben Rachilla, Chris Mennig and Luke Nealon.
“We are going to need it. That physicality is going to be important,” Kablick said. “District 3 has such a quick offense. Look at our possible opponents. Mennonite has a 6-foot-5 Division 1 lefty that’s tough to contain. York Suburban has five quality attackers. And Northeastern is on another planet.”
While Redeemer has already seen its opponent, Debbie Gavin admits her Trojans don’t have much information on Cardinal O’Hara.
What Nanticoke does have is heart, guts and all-out hustle.
“I think we played the best possible game we could against Redeemer in that championship,” the Nanticoke Area head coach said. “All three sets were pretty competitive. But their two top hitters were the difference.”
It’s been a record-setting season at GNA. No boys’ volleyball team in school history has finished second in the district. It’s the third-straight year the team has reached the state bracket.
And it’s a chance to crack the record books again by winning a state match.
“For us, it’s a great thing,” she said. “A lot of our guys probably didn’t play volleyball coming up through. Really, they are just a bunch of great kids taking a risk and learning a new sport rather quickly. A lot of the boys tend to lean toward baseball and track. I give our kids credit because they learn the sport pretty quickly and are competitive.”
For the seniors, it’s a special road they’ve traveled down.
“They’ve achieved goals every year,” Gavin said. “They are good students in the classroom, and good kids in general. Hopefully, we can come away with a victory, and they can add another achievement to their resume. I’m proud of our guys.”
Crestwood knows exactly what to expect.
The Comets were swept last season by Northeastern at this very point of the postseason in 2015.
“We will do our best,” Williams said. “I think the kids will go into the match with a little more confidence than we did last year. We did battle them a little bit. We didn’t do horrible against them considering who they are. We have nothing to lose.”
The best team in the state, Northeastern has Division 1 prospects littered throughout and has rolled though the competition in 2016.
With only two seniors graduating, Wednesday’s match will provide valuable experience for the Comets heading into 2017.
“We have 10 juniors on the team, and with Michael (Williams) only being a sophomore as our setter, we have a nice future ahead of us that we are looking forward to,” Mike Williams said. “This match will provide some good experience for our kids.”